Easter: Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Old Testament Lesson

Leviticus 19:1-8

We see here the instruction to be Holy as God is Holy. That's a loaded phrase. What does it mean to be Holy as God is Holy. Does that mean we should be upright in our actions?  Yes.  Does it mean that we should stick close to the Bible in making our decisions?  Yes. It means a lot of things. But, in all the things that it means, it means that we are to be different. We are to live in a different way, love in a different way, forgive in a different way than the way that world does. 

We should be the most forgiving, for we have been forgiven the most. We should be the most loving, for we have been loved. We should be the most understanding, for we have been understood. We should be the most graceful, for we have been showed grace.  God has been Holy towards us, so may we be Holy towards others. 

New Testament Lesson

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Paul always ends his letters with words of encouragements. And they are encouragements to do right. To forgive.  To live right.  To be patient and kind. To give God grace and glory. They are always short and quick, but always paint the way for a good life. 

Sometimes a good life is not the complicated things. Sometimes it is just doing the right things, the simple things, and doing them in a way that gives God all the glory.  

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 6:19-24

We see our Lord remind us today, we cannot serve two masters. God must be first.  We cannot think we can equally serve God and anything else.  He must come first. And when He does, we find peace, joy, and grace that we can find under no other master. If we devote our lives to chasing anything but God, we will come up empty. But, if we devote our lives to chasing God, we will find all that we could ever want or need